Barbados's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) was US$1.13 billion in 2018, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 5.94% from US$1.2 billion in 2008 (0.61% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$1.13 billion | 2018 |
| Five years earlier | US$969 million | 2013 |
| Ten years earlier | US$1.2 billion | 2008 |
| Highest | US$1.2 billion | 2008 |
| Lowest | US$620 million | 1995 |
| Average since 2009 | US$1.01 billion | 2009–2018 |
| First recorded | US$620 million |
What the numbers say
In 2018, Barbados' international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) rose 4.2% on 2017 (from US$1.08 billion to US$1.13 billion).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +2.9% and a typical year strayed about 8.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 21% in 2003 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.3% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Barbados | US$1.13 billion | 2018 |
| World | US$1.47 trillion | 2019 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | US$102.12 billion | 2019 |
| High income | US$1.04 trillion | 2019 |
Closest to Barbados in the 2018 ranking
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1st of 9: US$5.02 billion
- French Polynesia — 3rd of 9: US$642 million
- Senegal — 4th of 9: US$496 million
- Mali — 5th of 9: US$227 million
What this measures
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 24 values
| Year | International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,125,000,000 |
| 2017 | 1,080,000,000 |
| 2016 | 1,038,000,000 |
| 2015 | 947,000,000 |
| 2014 | 887,000,000 |
| 2013 | 969,000,000 |
| 2012 | 929,000,000 |
| 2011 | 971,000,000 |
| 2010 | 1,038,000,000 |
| 2009 | 1,073,000,000 |
International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Antigua and Barbuda — US$386 million (2020)
- Argentina — US$1.62 billion (2020)
- Aruba — US$1.08 billion (2020)
- Bahamas, The — US$1 billion (2020)
- Belize — US$247 million (2020)
- Bolivia — US$191 million (2020)
- Brazil — US$3.04 billion (2020)
- Chile — US$406 million (2020)
- Colombia
More private sector & trade data for Barbados
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 33.14% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$2.23 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$428 million (2025)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 87.11% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 5.7% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 7.19% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.52% (2023)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Barbados's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)?
- US$1.13 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is up 81.45% from US$620 million in 1995 (2.62% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.2 billion in 2008 and the lowest US$620 million in 1995.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) unusual for Barbados?
- In 2018, Barbados' international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) rose 4.2% on 2017 (from US$1.08 billion to US$1.13 billion). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +2.9% and a typical year strayed about 8.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.TVLR.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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